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Wider Seat, or something else?

Lately I've been getting sore shoulders too. Wasn't sure if was cause of the wider handlebars or not. I ride with the seat on the second to the last reclined position which seems to be decent enough to cut through the occasional head & cross winds.

Have been trying to let up on holding the handlebars, although have to brake-steer around obstacles here. Many places the sidewalks have angled-surfaces to allow vehicle traffic in which make me ride on an angle.
Thinking perhaps of repositioning my back on the standard seat and trying to regain center on the angled or leaning sidewalks might had something to do with it.

I've got a seat wedge to help me from scooting forward but it seems I still do slide forward and reposition my back at times - more subconsciously.

I could try going back up a notch which could alleviate the pressure of the seat from gouging the back of my thighs - especially the right thigh, although would mean having to scoot the seat back more. Am concerned with the crosswinds and such again.

For some reason laying back seems more of a comfortable ride with less pressure on the thighs (left mainly). Yet after some rides the shoulders ache some. Not painful, but can feel it a few hours after the ride.
When I went down the Weiser River Trail both the shoulders and forearms were in pain the following night. Took some Tylenol to get back to sleep. But half way through the ride I had to raise the seat up a notch to relieve the thigh pressure, yet that position threw my legs closer to the pedals and there was argument from the right knee. But I got through okay.

Thing is I'm never sore during the ride, it's only a few hours after, at night, or the next day when the shoulders feel slightly sore.

Wondering if perhaps it's that I bounce and move around so much in the seat that causes this. Always compensating for changes in the riding environment.

Would like to know if the wider seat would help or not, as was told the seat is only an inch wider on each side. Unsure if the seat would be any longer or taller.

Would of thought by now my shoulders would of gotten used to trike riding, though I've been riding more lately than I was able to last Fall before that horrible winter hit.
And my shoulders ache too from pushing carts of chips around at Walmart too. Guess is something one cannot cure.

Unsure if a lumbar support would work. Wished I could somehow borrow a wider seat to see if it would work cause that's a hefty investment if it does not resolve the issues.

Comments

Can you change the angle of the handlebars and still reach them? I get pain in my arms, hands, and shoulders sometimes. When I don't need to brake or change gears, I move my hands up on the handlebars to change the position of my arms.

I changed the orientation of my handlebars when I had the two sets welded together. They sit further out but the handles go to the back. I have room for changes except that with the larger crank, I've had to move the set up and the handlebars are too close at times. I keep making changes to see what works.

My philosophy has been "if it hurts, move something." This trike is so adjustable for everyone.

After I created the vertical handlebars for my Rover using MTB bike add-on bars, I'm no longer "reaching" for the handlebars and no longer get any soreness in my arms. Do you have an old MTB bike with those add-ons you could steal?

It would mean moving your shifter out a little, as the bars mount there, and brakes (brakes should move to the vertical so they are right at your fingertips)

Look at my thumbnail picture. I attached the wide and standard handlebars then took the to a shop to welded. With the wide handlebars almost all the way out, I still have the handles at a 45 degree angle so I can hold on.

The pain is from arthritis. I have it almost everywhere. My thumb joints hurts the worst these days. My next purchase will probably be a glove that keeps my hands on the handlebars.

New photo at left. Remember, I have 24" wheels. With either the standard or the wide handlebars, my hands were way too close to the wheels. Also, when you move the handlebars towards the seat, which I had to do to get it into my condo, they leaned back so far that they hit my legs. As far as I could tell, this was the only option. I now have a garage, moved them back over the wheels, and these bars are very comfortable.

@Florida_bound - concerning thumb issues. I use to get steroid shots in my thumbs every few months for arthritis pain. One day, after my D.O. finished working on my back, he asked if I had any other pain. I mostly jokingly said, "sure, my thumbs are always killing me, but I'm sure there is noting you can do for them." I had gotten shots every 4 months in both thumbs for five years. The shots help for about 3 weeks, and you can't get another one for 4 months! I have never needed a shot since then. After he had worked on them 3-4 times (once a month), I had him teach me how to do the same basic thing he does.

Basically, grab one thumb with the palm of the opposite hand and pull out on your thumb as you move the other portion of that hand in a wavy type motion. You have to wave slowly while you pull the thumb with a good amount of pressure. Give it a try if my instructions make sense to you and tell me if it helps. At first I was doing it seemingly once every waking hour, now I need to do once or twice a month... And my thumbs are pain free!

I think I understand. I'll try it and see how they feel. I was never one to crack my knuckles and feel like I have to now.

As for the steroid injections, I'm surprised at how many you got. My OD told me I could only get two ever. They stopped the pain in my knees for 6 months. A friend got a lot of steroid shots in his back and it deteriorated the bones so I was very cautious.

I can demonstrate at RiderFest if you attend. I put the link for RiderFest under that topic heading here in the Forum. They have a few motels listed, but if you click on the map they provide, you can click the "nearby" icon (near the top left corner) and select motels for a much more complete list with mapped locations.